


Everything's Gonna Be Alright (Sunny and Bright)

by annieapple24



Series: No Fight, Just Excitation [4]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Brian is too clueless for that just yet, Bros helping bros, Hair-pulling Kink, Kink Discovery, M/M, Panic Attacks, Stress Relief, not in a dirty way, pre-poly!queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-15 19:35:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18676081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/annieapple24/pseuds/annieapple24
Summary: Poor John gets so overwhelmed with his workload, he accidentally ends up having a breakdown in front of Brian. Brian, of course, is a good friend and helps comfort him.





	Everything's Gonna Be Alright (Sunny and Bright)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LeggoxMyxGreggo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeggoxMyxGreggo/gifts).



> We all get stressed out and need a bit of comfort. I hope this helps a few stressed out people. 
> 
> Written in my No Fight, Just Excitation universe, sometime between the second and third chapter before Brian and John hook up. Can be read as a stand alone (but if you like it, pop over to the main story to see what eventually happened to these clueless dumbasses). 
> 
> To LeggoxMyXGreggo, my muse.

John was starting to wonder if it was actually possible to die from stress. 

It was only four weeks into the semester, but it was clear that he had overloaded himself. On top of simply trying to juggle school, work, and band stuff, one of John's instructors had convinced him to take an extra class, adding to his workload. To make matters worse, one of his instructors in another class seemed to hate him. He had kept John back after class several times now to yell at John for not putting in enough effort in his class. Something a teacher had never said to John in his life.

Work wasn't so bad. It was only a part time job that didn't require much effort, but being in a band with someone like Freddie Mercury was demanding. It required quite a bit of his free time. Between practice, gigs, and attempting to find a studio willing to let them try recording an album, it left very little time for John to even breathe.

Take tonight for example. John had been in class all morning, worked a shift, had band practice for a couple hours, and now was doing as much studying as possible before he passed out sometime in the early morning.

It wasn't so bad, really. John might be completely exhausted, but he usually enjoyed the quiet hours he spent alone with Brian, both of them completely engrossed in their separate studies. They had been at it for a few hours, not speaking much. Brian had gotten up once to make them both tea, but now it was quiet. Brian had claimed the floor space in front of the armchair, using a bit of the table to spread out his books and papers. John sat on the couch, using the other half of the table, but was quickly regretting it as he began to feel the pain in his lower back. He ignored it as best he could for now.

John really thought he would be able to handle it. He had always been able to handle full loads of work and school in the past. But at some point between staring at the stupid essay he was supposed to be writing on a topic he couldn't give two shits about and remembering the last class period where the instructor had yelled at John yet again, wondering if anything he was doing actually really mattered, John felt something inside him snap.

Some part of him could feel the tears dripping down his cheeks. But John didn't really process the fact that he was crying until a strangled sob escaped his lips and Brian's eyes quickly flicked up to him.

“John?”

There was so much concern in Brian's voice that John couldn't help crying even harder. It was stupid. He shouldn't be freaking out. He had an essay to finish.

“John, are you okay? Please say something.” Brian had clambered to his knees, now sitting in front of John with one elbow on the couch.

But John couldn't even make eye contact with Brian, let alone speak. He felt so overwhelmed, and worse, so embarrassed. John opened his mouth, hoping to find some words that could placate Brian, but instead another sob emerged.

No longer hesitating, one of Brian's hands came up to rest on John's knee. And when John didn't push him away, Brian moved to sit on the couch next to him, slowly wrapping his arms around John's body and leading John's head to slowly rest on his shoulder. It was comforting, and John couldn't even feel bad for getting Brian's shirt wet. 

“It's alright, John. It's gonna be okay. Whatever it is, it's going to be okay.”

John wished he could comfort Brian. He hated worrying him. They hadn’t even known each other that long. Brian shouldn’t feel so responsible for him. It wasn’t fair, and John was just being a little baby.

“I’m sorry,” John managed to choke out. He tried to take deep breaths, tried to quiet his sobs and stop the flow of tears running down his cheeks. It was a slow process, and the gentle feeling of Brian’s thumb rubbing soothing circles into John’s shoulder blade really only made him cry a bit harder. “I’m sorry.”

“For what, John? What happened?”

Forcing himself to push away from Brian, John sat back and wiped quickly at his eyes and nose, trying to hide his ugly cry-face from Brian. 

“It’s nothing, Brian, really,” John had to pause to choke embarrassingly on his own spit, still fighting back the sobs that made his entire body shake.

Brian let John keep his distance while he attempted to regain some composure, but Brian kept a hand on John’s thigh. Just letting John know that he was there. It felt so nice, even if it made John feel guilty as hell. “You can tell me if you want, Deaky. You know that, right? We’re friends.”

They were friends. John knew that. Even if he was the odd one out in the group, John knew that he was still a part of them. But the idea of telling Brian why he was crying was a bit scary. Embarrassing. John didn’t want to admit to someone like Brian May how weak he really was. 

“I… I’m just a bit stressed, that’s all. No big deal.” 

Brian frowned. “You’re so stressed that you started crying? That sounds like it’s kind of a big deal.”

Shit. John really should’ve just kept his mouth shut. Now Brian would never leave it alone. John couldn’t help another sob, more tears. 

“I get it. You have a lot on your plate right now. I can’t imagine how you made it this long without a breakdown,” Brian said, lowering his voice to a calm murmur and now putting both of his hands on John’s legs. “You really are amazing.”

John scoffed. “Amazing? I can’t even make it through a bloody essay without crying like a child!”

Brian didn’t even flinch at John’s exclamation. “John, I am on my way to getting a PhD and yet you still have more work than I do. You’re not weak for taking on more than you can handle, you’re just human.”

You’re not weak. It was a nice thought. Not quite enough to penetrate through the layers of anxiety and self-doubt John had built up around himself over the years, but he could appreciate Brian’s effort nevertheless. Attempting to be a good friend and comfort John.

“I wish I could believe that,” John admitted, leaning closer to Brian again. 

There was no hesitation when Brian’s arms wrapped back around John. It was strange. He felt totally comfortable in Brian’s arms, as if John had known him for years rather than months. It honestly felt completely natural when Brian’s hand came up and started petting John’s hair. 

It was soft, nothing fancy, just gentle strokes tracing the shape of John’s head and trailing down as far as Brian could reach without the motion becoming awkward. It felt amazing, if John was being truthful. But John wasn’t about to tell Brian that. It felt so nice, and did, surprisingly, help to calm John down. That was enough for John’s overanxious and overstressed brain to give him permission to just relax a little.

“See? It’s all going to be alright.”

John was eventually able to calm down again, though it took some time. But finally the shaking stopped, the tears were no longer falling, and John could once again breathe normally. Or at least almost normally as he was still sniffling a little. He didn’t really want to pull away from Brian, and certainly didn’t want the petting to end, but John wasn’t sure how much longer Brian was willing to put up with him. So he pulled away, laughing slightly as he did so.

Brian echoed his laughter. “Feeling better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” John said sincerely. 

They were still sitting very close to each other. John wasn’t quite sure what to do now that he was done crying. Brian didn’t seem upset to have John in his space, and didn’t seem ready to move back to his study spot on the floor. John watched as Brian first looked John up and down and then turned to survey the books and papers littering the table and floor.

“I think we should call it a night on studying, yeah?” Brian said, leaning forward to close one of John’s books, batting John’s hand away when John shot forward to try to stop him.

“But my essay-”

“Will still be there tomorrow,” Brian insisted. “We can ask Fred about cancelling practice so we can work a bit. He gets that school is still important to us nerds, even if he doesn’t feel that way himself.” 

That earned a chuckle from John. “Fine. But I don’t think I can sleep yet. I’ll just stress myself out again if I lie down by myself in a dark room.” John blushed when he realized how that sounded, as if he was asking Brian to make sure he wasn’t alone in his room. John shook it off, hoping Brian wouldn’t notice the red on his face. 

“That’s alright. We can watch some telly? Or listen to some records? We still have some time before the others get back, and they would just wake us back up anyway,” Brian suggested, now sliding off the couch to begin picking up his own pile of books and straightening them neatly.

John nodded. “Yeah, telly sounds good.” Hopefully they could find something that would distract him and tire him out enough to sleep that night. John stood and walked over the TV, repressing his usual urge to get pissed at Roger all over again for breaking the remote in one of his tantrums. It was a nuisance to have to change the channel by hand every time, but tonight John didn’t care so much.

Settling on a rerun of an old black and white show he knew Brian also liked, John turned back around. He paused for a moment when he saw Brian had sat back down on the couch, instead of the armchair John had expected him to sit in. Usually the two of them enjoyed personal space, unlike Freddie and Roger, but perhaps Brian was still worried about John?

A bit nervously, John sat back down next to Brian. They watched for about a minute before Brian apparently couldn’t ignore John’s rigid posture any longer.

“Do you…” Brian faltered for a moment. “Would you like to go back to doing what we were before?”

“What do you mean?”

Brian ran a finger over his lip. John had seen him do it before, and wondered if it meant Brian was a bit nervous too. About what, John wasn’t sure. “When we were hugging and I was petting your hair?”

It was too good an offer for John to flat out refuse, but his anxiety still got the better of him. “I really don’t want to bother you. I really am feeling better.”

“So?” Brian asked. “I really don’t mind.” As if to prove his point, Brian reached up to stroke John’s hair. John couldn’t help but let his eyes droop at the sensation.

“Are you… are you sure?” John stuttered.

Brian chuckled. “Yes, Deaky, I’m sure.” Brian squeezed John’s shoulder, as if to pull him closer. “Here, you can lie down on my lap if you like. The way Roger likes to do?”

With a bit more coaxing, Brian convinced John to lie across the couch, half on his side and half on his stomach, with his head resting comfortably on Brian’s thigh. It was the perfect position for Brian to pet his hair, and they were both able to relax again and watch the mindless show playing on the screen.

It really was relaxing. John was starting to think that if Brian kept up his gentle strokes he might fall asleep right in Brian’s lap. But then something changed. Brian started to comb his fingers through John’s hair. There was a slight pulling sensation each time Brian did so, his long, thin fingers dexterously working through tangles and sliding all the way down to the tips of John’s long hair. 

John realized he had started to breathe quite heavily, and tried his best to even out. It didn’t quite work as Brian’s fingers had reached the finer hairs at the top of John’s neck and John had to fight the urge to gasp. It seemed the further back Brian’s fingers went, the more sensitive John was. But that didn’t even compare to the feeling when Brian’s fingernails started to scrape ever so gently over John’s scalp.

The moan came from nowhere, and John didn’t quite manage to stifle it in time, instead choking on it. He hoped Brian might write it off as a strange cough, but there would be no mistaking the deep flush John could feel spreading across his face. 

Thankfully, the petting didn’t stop. John didn’t dare look up at Brian now, focusing on keeping his eyes glued to the TV. He wasn’t sure why he was reacting like this, and was even more confused when he realized that he was starting to get hard. Brian petting his hair was actually turning John on.

It wasn’t exactly panic that John felt, but the realization had John’s brain going into overdrive. It’s not like he had ever had someone pet his hair like this before. Not as carefully and thoroughly as Brian was doing. It felt so fucking good. John couldn’t deny that. So it wasn’t really that strange for the sensations to be turning him on a bit.

But it wasn’t just the feeling. A part of John knew that he wouldn’t be reacting this way if some random stranger was petting his hair. He would probably be pushing the stranger away and telling them to fuck off. Part of the reason was because Brian was the one petting his hair. And John had no idea what to do with that information.

Then, all thoughts were cut off with a sharp tug on a chunk of his hair. This time, John couldn’t help the gasp escaping from his lips and the bolt of pleasure that raced through his stomach and down to his rapidly rising erection. 

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t quite get that snag in time. Didn’t mean to hurt you,” Brian apologized, his hand stilling for a moment, but resuming again as soon as he finished speaking.

John dug his fingers into the couch cushion, gripping tightly and hoping Brian didn’t notice. “It didn’t… it’s okay.” The words hissed through John’s teeth.

John knew he should ask Brian to stop. It wasn’t fair to be taking advantage of Brian like this. Not to mention if it lasted much longer, John would have an interesting time having to explain a few things to Brian he rather not have to explain. But at the same time, John didn’t want Brian to stop, and he was really hoping Brian might pull on his hair again.

He decided to wait a bit longer before saying anything.

It wasn’t the best idea John ever had, but he couldn’t quite help himself. He didn’t even bother trying to take his mind off of the pleasure, to even think of unsexy thoughts. He just let himself enjoy the feeling of Brian’s hands in his hair, the tingles down his spine, all the while fighting the urge to moan and hump the couch.

The door opened suddenly, causing John to jump in surprise and for his erection to wilt. He couldn’t decide if it was a blessing or a curse, knowing it would make facing Brian again slightly less awkward not having a massive rod on. But at the smirk on Freddie and Roger’s faces as they walked through the door and caught sight of John with his head on Brian’s lap and Brian’s finger’s buried in John’s hair, he decided it was definitely a curse. Freddie sure as hell wouldn’t let him live this down anytime soon.

Reluctantly, John sat up again, not looking at Brian. Subtly, John adjusted his trousers, hoping know one would notice the slight bulge before he was able to will it away completely.

It was only later that night, after everyone else had gone to bed and John was curled up under his own fluffy duvet that he even let himself think about it. He still wasn’t quite sure how to feel about getting horny from one of his best friends petting his hair. It wasn’t like he didn’t know Brian was attractive. They all were. It really wasn’t fair that they were all so pretty and John was so plain. 

But to actually get turned on by Brian? Maybe it wasn’t really that strange. After all, after listening to the others having sex so often, trying and failing miserably to sneak around and hide it from John, always left him breathless and horny and lonely as hell. Maybe it wasn’t just being forced to listen to sex sounds all night long that did it to him, but the people making the sounds. 

John hoped this wouldn’t make breakfast awkward the next day. But if he started staring at Brian’s fingers and fantasizing about them in his hair, or worse other places, during practice, John wasn’t quite sure what he was going to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Fun Fact which sadly didn't make it into the story: This is the first time Brian calls John "Deaky". John doesn't realize until Brian starts doing it more, which doesn't help his slow descent into Feelings.


End file.
